running around

Jim's days off have been a blur of activity.  He's been working on the honey do list, washing the truck and in between napping and enjoying the birds outside.

Yesterday we did some running around in Palatka.  I needed some potting soil so off we go!  First stop was lunch at Corky Bell's.  We both chose shrimp, his was fried and mine was boiled ( I only ate three and brought the rest home for Jim to enjoy), a baked potato and slaw were our sides.  Of course hushpuppies came with the meal and we washed it down with nice, cold mug of Shock Top

Next stop was Lowe's for the potting soil.  I looked at the plants but nothing jumped in the basket to come home with me.

Verizon was next to see if we could get a screen saver for Jim's new phone.  He ordered and received his Droid Maxx a few days ago and spent the entire afternoon setting it up and playing with the new features.  Alas, no screen saver, apparently it's a new phone design and all the extras aren't in the market yet

Then it was off to explore.  Since we got the State Park Pass we thought we'd check out the local park, Ravine Gardens State Park.  http://www.floridastateparks.org/ravinegardens/ We only drove through, stopping to get out once.  It's very....green...this time of year...I'm sure when spring comes it's quite lovely.  There were only a few people there and I'm sure the locals use it for biking, walking and running.  There are places to picnic and overlooks to view the ravine.  We both agree we need to go back.  Maybe take the trikes and enjoy a short ride.

Back home Jim napped for a bit.  Boo and I just left him be.  Dinner was yellow rice, black beans and sliced green onions.  The rice and beans were leftovers, they go well together.

Watched some TV then Inspector Lewis on Netflix. 

We're both enjoying the cooler weather.  I'm guessing it gets into the upper 80's during the day, but dropping into the upper 60's at night.  The AC isn't running all the time.  Of course this means outside critters are coming in and we're disposing of them as fast as we can.  One of the hazards of sitting still for long periods, the locals want to drop by and stay!

Paper

The other day I bought a couple of magazines at Barnes and Nobles and did you know they offer a paperless receipt?  They just emailed it to me!  I think that's fabulous....no little piece of paper that ends up in a recycle bin or land fill or ends up floating around as a piece of litter in the parking lot. I hope more stores offer this option!

I also took the opportunity to look at the Nook tablets. So many options for hand held devices out there!  I have the original Nook reader, no bells and whistles.  Do I need another one?   Not really...I have an iPad (original, 1st edition) that I no longer carry everywhere because I'm afraid the battery will run down and I won't be able to recharge it (issues with the plug and cord). I really miss not taking it everywhere because with all the apps I can read, play games and with WiFi can get online. Do I need another one, not really.  But I can dream

Thursday I was up a 0600...for years this has been my normal rising time, but because I haven't been sleeping well getting up later has been the norm lately.  Hopefully this changing seasons will be a new beginning for me. Not that I like getting up when it's dark!  But the longer I stay in bed the more my back hurts.  And it does give me quiet time for reading and hearing the birds as the sun comes up.

Around mid morning the clouds started dissipating and the sun came out!  I wanted to make a run to Lowe's for some plants so we changed into our city clothes and headed out.  

I did managed to find a potted chrysanthemum I liked and chose a couple marigolds to flank it.  Also bought a tomato plant, a pepper plant and a dish of succulents   Our hanging pot of fuchsia looked pitiful so I bought some impatiens to replace it.  Stay tuned for pictures!

We also bought a new bird feeder, squirrel proof according to the label...we shall see.  Along with some bird seed and suet cakes we're all set to watch the birds and squirrels

Next stop was Verizon, we get a 15% discount for Jim's military service and we had to show his ID card and send in paperwork to continue getting this discount.  Not a big deal and after a few minutes we were good to go. I like saving money, how about you?

Next stop was Subway for lunch.  I had a $10 gift card and we took advantage of the $5 foot long and along with a soda and chips we indulged ourselves.  Can't recall the last time I had real soda

Our last stop was Publix for a few groceries.  Back home Jim unloaded the truck, placing bagged plants all over the patio and I took care of the groceries.  Couldn't help but notice it was only 1300....Jim took a nap

Once he was up we both headed outside to take care of the plants and I did some re-potting. I filled the new feeder and hung it out while Jim set out seed in a couple other feeders   Then it was time for cold beer....have you ever tried a fruit flavored beer? I had an Abita Strawator, Strawberry Harvest Lager.  Quite nice on a warm afternoon.

Our Thursday night Pizza/Pot Luck was quite pleasant.  This front that went through left us with a cool breeze and lower temperatures.

It was so nice that when we got back home we opened the windows and turned on the exhaust fans.  We haven't done that in the last few months!  Then we showered and settled in for an evening of TV watching.   Shortly after 2100 we had to close up the house and turn on the AC...it was nice to have the fresh air moving through the house once again

What this world needs is a new kind of army - the army of the kind.  ~Cleveland Amory

Sonsearae and Chris Visit!

Last Thursday was chore day and it included defrosting the freezer...it was way over due and I don't know why I always put it off.  We spent the week prior trying to eat the excess food!  For such a small space I can manage to cram a lot of goodies in there.

Speaking of food did you know there's a website to help you find free food?  That's right I said FREE, www.fallingfruit.org.  See if there is something in your neighborhood

I've been reading Omnivore's Dilemma, A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan.  Quite interesting...so far I've learned about corn, from the field to our plate and all points in between.  It's amazing how we've became so dependent on corn in all it's incarnations.  What are you reading?

On Friday Sonsearae, Chris and Sierra met us at Corky Bell's for lunch.  Sierra is their Godchild and visiting for a month.  They were on their way to St. Augustine.

Sierra and Sonsearae

Chris

They also brought gifts!  Jim got his Father's Day card with a restaurant gift card and I got a very pretty frog pin. They also treated us to lunch, thank you very much Sonsearae and Chris!  The food was good as usual and we enjoyed our visit with them.  All to soon we parted ways as they continued on to St Augustine and we headed into Palatka for some shopping.  

First stop was Lowe's for bird seed and hardware...Then we meandered down to Walmart where Jim found some windshield wipers and I picked up some  groceries.  We needed something to cook on our new grill!

Last night I cooked up a tray full of zucchini,  yellow squash, peppers and boiled potatoes. What more do you need for dinner?  Oh, Jim also had some leftover grilled shrimp from Corky Bell's 

We only have the one reversible grid and I think another one is needed.  If you want to cook pancakes or eggs you need a flat surface.  I'll also be able to do shrimp boils!

I hope all the dads out there enjoyed their day!

flora and fauna

It's Sunday again!  Jim is working in the office today.  This weekend is the first time I've seen the campground full, not sure about all the cabins, but the place is hoppin' with all the people wandering around on foot, in golf carts and on bikes.  

Jim didn't work Monday - Friday, it was nice having him home!  We had some rain so Jim got on the roof last Tuesday to tidy it up and decided the back slide topper had to be removed. We've been nursing it along and knew it would have to go.  Now we just need to figure out how to replace it while we sit here!

And don't you know it rained that afternoon!!???!!



Wednesday we had some shopping to do. Since it was lunchtime we stopped at Corky Belle's and enjoyed some really good seafood.  Drove through some light rain showers in getting there.  Jim needed some wood to build a shooting table (?) so we stopped at Lowe's to get that and some potting soil and birdseed.  Of course I found a couple potted items to take home...Cucumbers and basil.  Our next stop was Walmart where we picked up some groceries.  We also used our card to get fuel, I think it was $3.82 for diesel. We also got fuel the other day at Sunoco using the fuel perks from Winn-Dixie and only paid $3.49 

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Thursday we had the pizza/potluck at the pool bar.  I'm thinking pretty soon it will be to hot for me.  I showered before we left and again when we came home.  

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

It's not about BBQ's or shopping, Please take time to Honor those who have died for our Freedoms.

to read more
http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

Repairs

Monday we headed to Lowe's to order the Wash machine. Pretty simple process, we told them what we wanted and they ordered it, then we paid for it....really nice getting the 10% discount they offer for Military.

After that chore we headed to Chili's for lunch.  We both had soup and half a sandwich with fries washed down with a draft beer.  All to soon lunch was over and we headed into Walmart for tomato cages, vitamins, bird seed and solar lights.

The afternoon warmed up to the middle 80's and we both were ready for naps when we got home!  I didn't nap but you can guess who did  :-)  We had our afternoon coffee outside and then we did yard work.  Jim filled the feeders and I watered plants.  I couldn't stay out any longer because of the no-see-ums.  I need to find something that will keep them from biting me that doesn't involve chemicals!



Hard to see because I took this through the window but there is a hummingbird on the left hand side of this picture...can you see him?

On Tuesday Jim spent a lot of time outdoors fixing this, doing that and washing the truck!  first time this year!!!

Wednesday we hung around the house all day waiting for a repairman to pick up the Microwave...if you recall he'd been out and 'fixed' it once...but it didn't take.  We knew it might not.  So a part was ordered and now the oven is in the shop, hopefully being repaired.

Off to the grocery store for a couple items because we expected some rain.  Once home we had some coffee and indeed we had some rain.  For most of the evening it was a steady rainfall and I know all my plants loved it.  We never heard any thunder and right as we snuggled in for the night it started raining harder.  I love the sound of rain on the roof and soon I was asleep

Today we're supposed to get more rain and the pot luck dinner has been postponed until tomorrow.  So far it's just been overcast.  Jim is working and I'm holding down the fort!

VA check in

Last Wednesday I had an early date to have my blood drawn at the Palatka VA out patient clinic.  We were on the road by 0700 and made it in plenty of time.  Since it was my first time at this clinic I had to sit through an orientation and learn their system.  I even signed up for online results and information.

Jim waited in the lounge and had coffee and doughnuts, even saving me one because I had to fast for the blood work.  My hero!  I was really hungry!!!

We left there and started shopping!  I needed some pots for tomato and pepper plants and we also needed some bird seed.  We hit Lowe's and Walmart .  By this time we were really getting hungry and decided to head towards home.  We stopped at Granny's Mason Jar for a bite to eat then headed home..

Funny thing, by the time we got home it was only 1215!  It's amazing what you can get done when you get up early enough!

We spent time outside, after Jim took a nap, filling and hanging feeders and potting plants.  It's always nice spending time together.

Thursday Jim worked all day.  Safelite Auto Glass drove up from Ocala to replace the rear window in the truck and I spent most of the day doing laundry.  Jim took a marinated cauliflower salad to the pot luck while I decided to stay home

Friday was a lovely day!  Jim only worked half the day and we spent some time outside with our afternoon coffee watching the birds and squirrels

It's strawberry season here and the stores are/were selling them very inexpensively.  So I've been buying them to freeze and use in my breakfast smoothies.   Wednesday I had bought two quarts and Jim came home Thursday with a bag full (at least two quarts) of freshly picked berries that Jessica gave him....we've been stuffing ourselves with berries!  they taste pretty good with chocolate syrup drizzled on them

Day Trip to St Augustine

Plop me down somewhere for any length of time and my thoughts turn to gardening.  We we're shopping for a step ladder at Lowe's and Home Depot....I say we, but naturally I mean Jim...while we were at these fine establishments I was wandering around the garden centers.  Found some leaf lettuce to transplant into a window box so I bought another planter, some soil and viola!  My own salad greens.  Jim doesn't care for leaf lettuce so I rarely buy it.



The left planter has seeds of lettuce, some flowers and a couple herbs.  The next pot has parsley and oregano that I picked up at Country Feed Store and Garden Center in Tallahassee.  The white pot contains a Christmas? cactus that Anne Scott gave me, that is just now budding out.  Then we have my pony tail palm and the newly planted lettuce

A few days ago we drove to St Augustine to revisit that beautiful, historic city.  Our last visit was last June (and that visit was the first in over 30 years!).  We had lunch at Cafe del Hidalgo where we both enjoyed a panini, Jim's was chicken and I had a veggie one with cheese..we left stuffed!

Cafe del Hidalgo


After lunch we wandered around the city taking in the marina this time.  It's always fun watching the boats in the harbour and wandering the docks checking out everyone's pleasure crafts.

Have you ever seen a banana in bloom and bearing fingers of baby bananas?  It's a beautiful plant and this one is outside another eating establishment

There are many churches and cathedrals and if I posted all the pictures I took you'd soon get bored.  Also, I'd have to write down all the names!  This one is near the college and I cannot tell you how gorgeous it is

 

This one is near the parking lot we used for the truck

It was a lovely afternoon spent with the love of my life!

We've mostly been enjoying our stay here and everyday life finds us doing chores of cleaning and laundry.  Jim bought a pressure washer and a couple days ago he cleaned the roof.  It really needed it as we've been parking under sappy trees!  We've taken to walking Boo a couple times a day down to the dock.  Boo loves all the new smells and lingers and sniffs every post and chair!

Our weather has finally gotten nicer and we've been wearing shorts!  The Thursday night potluck was fun, no jackets required!

If you're in the path of the rain, snow and cold...stay warm and safe!

We Hate to Leave

The past few days we've been doing our usual routine....some TV, gaming and Netflix.  We did go out for pizza and beer Friday and some fuel for our trip tomorrow.

I had hoped to see more fall color but apparently this is as good as it gets here at Willow Beach COE

 

There were some pretty trees planted at the local Lowe's

 

I will miss this little island we can see from our site

 

This beautiful hawk was looking for dinner, I'm sure.  I couldn't get closer, the first step I took he flew off




We had a wicked storm pass through last night and it woke all three of us.  Driving rain, thunder and wind!  Still gloomy when I got up but by noon the clouds parted and the sun came out.  As I type this it's in the middle 70's and very breezy.

Jim has been outside getting the tires ready for travel and packing up some stuff.  Now it's time for some football.  The Saints aren't playing so we'll cheer on the New York Giants...we are fans of Eli Manning

Tomorrow we head to West Memphis, Tom Sawyer Mississippi River RV Park...

Columbia, South Carolina

After the storms and rain of the night before, we awoke to overcast skies.  But the clouds didn't stop us as we made our way downtown yesterday morning.  The cooler temperatures helped  tremendously.  I wanted to see the capitol building and take a few pictures...we were pleasantly surprised to discover this beautiful complex!  It sits on 18 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds steeped in history!

Confederate Monument

George Washington Monument at base of steps

Palmetto Regiment Monument

Strom Thurmond Monument

Confederate Women's Monument

General Wade Hampton Monument

African American History Monument

African American History Monument

Spanish American War Monument

We strolled the grounds around the capitol and around every corner there was another monument to another war and the men lost.  We only spent a few minutes inside and wow is it beautiful!  They offer a tour and I'm sure that would be interesting.  I picked up a brochure to help with the names of the monuments and discovered we missed a lot in this huge complex..There is a lot more to see but we saved it for another time.  I didn't realize there could be so much to see and do in this area.  When we pass this way again we'll plan better

We stopped for lunch at Panera Bread where Jim had a turkey/bacon sandwich with chips and a pickle which he washed down with a strawberry smoothie.  I had a Greek salad that was very tasty and an apple which I brought home.

Then it was off to Walmart where we fueled up for our trip today.  We also stopped at Lowe's where all we needed was a light bulb but we both found something we needed!  Jim got a new Dremel, which has been on his wish list for a long time.  And I found a new Pony Tail Palm

I think I'll leave this one in the small pot!  The last one I had got way to big to transport around.

Wind and Rain

We've weathered the storms!   But not without incident....Monday night when we went to bed we discovered water had gotten in and the bedding was wet.  This had to have happened during the day because when I made the bed all was dry!  So we had to strip the bed and remake it.  Sheets went in the dryer and the comforter was draped over my computer stand and a quilt was draped over the kitchen counter. None of these items were WET but we couldn't sleep with them.

Yesterday when I got up I started the laundering process.  Fortunately the down comforter dried over night...don't need no wet feathers!  It felt like that's all I did all day!  I suppose I could have schlepped all of the stuff to the laundry down at the office but I like using my own washer and dryer.

Jim found the source of the water leak on the bedroom slide and took steps to dry it out.  We had to run out and get some sealant so we had lunch out too!

I had a couple books to mail so the post office was our first stop.  Then we headed to Lowe's for the sealant.  Next stop was Don Julio's for a Mexican lunch....not the best place...I think they used Velveeta for their cheese sauce.  The salsa was good, it had a bit of a kick!

Final stop was Walmart to pick up some groceries, a toilet seat and fuel!  With the card diesel was $3.84 not bad when you consider we've seen it higher in this area.  I think I've seen it as high as $4.10!

Back home I continued with the laundering and Jim installed the toilet seat....then he took a nap.

As we went for our evening stroll last night we got caught in a downpour!  We saw the dark clouds approaching from the northwest but it didn't look ominous...the rain that got us came from the east.  So we dashed home so we could get the windows closed and clean up the water once again...and guess what?  the fantastic fans did not close so the bed got wet again!

What's a little rain among friends?  We laughed a lot and cleaned it up....

Change in plans

Yesterday when I got up I checked the weather for Bisbee, Arizona, our destination. Well imagine my surprise when it said snowy/rain! I let Anne know and she said no to travel as did Scotty. when Jim got up we told him we were staying in Las Cruces one more day.

We had a few errands to run so the four of us hopped in the truck and headed to Lowe's and the guys spent so much time we thought they should take us out to lunch, but nooooo. We stopped at Albertsons and picked up some groceries.

Back home we had some lunch and watched the weather deteriorate. It really didn't get bad, but the temperature dropped and we had spitting rain. Scotty said he saw snow flakes while working outside.

I made a pot of taco soup for dinner and Anne made a salad and corn muffins. A good meal if I say so myself! We then made plans for our next stop.

A cozy evening indoors and life is good.

This morning I was up at 7 and woke Jim shortly thereafter. We wanted to make an early start for our trip to Benson, Arizona. Since we have reservations for Monday we changed our destination from Bisbee to Benson. I was ready to go around 10 minutes after 9. Jim was almost ready to go as were the Scotts. But they couldn't start the Winnebago! ERS was called and we waited about 45 minutes for them to show up. They got the rig started and we were on the road!

Better late than never. Our drive over to Benson was easy if boring. We took I-10 and though the mountains broke up the monotony of interstate driving it was a long trip. About 220 miles. The most interesting part of the trip was Texas Canyon! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Canyon We may have to check it out some day.

Arizona doesn't do daylight savings so we gained an hour when we arrived in the state. We're staying at SKP Saguaro C0-Op for two nights. the rates are good and the park is laid out nicely.

For dinner we ordered pizza and having it delivered was nice because no one wanted to drive out to get it. Anne made a small salad and we all ate our fill. Scotty and I drank a bottle of red wine while Jim and Anne had beer.

Back home we've showered and we're computering as Ginger would say. The TV is on but we're really not paying attention.

"Leave sooner, drive slower, live longer. ~Author Unknown"

More Flowers

Can't really say I did much today. Just little chores that come with our daily life. Bed making, dishes, cooking.

We did make a run to Lowe's with the Scott's. Jim picked up the clips he needed for the screen door window. Which he attached after we got home.

I took all of these pictures at Lowe's

this is peach tree! I've never seen one in bloom, the purple/pink flowers are pretty.

love the yellow and orange together.

the petunias were looking lush

Flowering pear trees made a nice shot against the blue skies we had today

another peach tree

this was called a potato vine tree...the white flowers are simple but gorgeous against the green leaves.

The pink hydrangeas were big!

Once we got home I watched my soaps and gave Boo a bath. For dinner Jim grilled chicken while I made oven fries and a salad of chick peas, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers with just a wee bit of lemon juice. We ate everything on our plates...



Just because you've only got houseplants doesn't mean you don't have the gardening spirit - I look upon myself as an indoor gardener. ~Sara Moss-Wolfe